Slytherpuff
by Queenbeee222
Summary: Being a Hufflepuff is hard. People never take you seriously and are just plain mean. However, when you add a Slytherin BFF to the mix... Life could become easier or more difficult.(DISCONTINUED)
1. Scarlet Train

_**A/N: Hi there! So this is my first ever fanfiction, so be kind. I'm not going to be starting from the first year, rather from the fifth year, because writing from the point of view of an eleven year old is much harder than a fifteen year old. :D**_

The Scarlet Train

"On you go honey", my mother said from somewhere on my right. I knew where I had to go. I knew what I had to do. I was just hesitating for the hell of it. In all honesty, I was ecstatic. I was finally going back to Hogwarts, I was finally going _home_. My real home. But. But I was leaving my mother behind. My beautiful, wonderful, loving mother. She'd be lonely. With my brother gone to, as he said 'fulfill his destiny' and be an auror, she would miss me. And I would miss her.

I turned back to face her, the train to my back, doubt written all over my face. Of course, being the one to raise me, she could read me like an open book.

"I'll be just fine Harper, honestly. No need to worry so much, you'll get wrinkles!" my mother said with a light smile on her face." Now move child or you'll get your wish stay with me for the year."

She was right. The train was leaving! I gave my mother a hurried peck on the cheek and a rushed 'I love you' and ran to the train. My trunk and owl, Athena, were already on the train so I sprinted straight in and started to find my best friend. After checking a few already full compartments, I spotted him sitting in an empty one, with a sour look on his face. Flinching at his expression, I walked in and sat in front of him. "Well look who decided to show up!" , Marcus said scornfully.

"I'm sooory! I got caught up in goodbyes." I apologized.

He huffed and handed me a chocolate frog. Inwardly, I sighed with relief. Once Marcus got mad, it could take a whole school year to get him normal. Marcus Hopkins, a pureblood, a Slytherin and my best friend. He had a regal face, with high cheekbones and eyes the color of vegetation. Basically, an extremely… Slytherin-y face. Also, a mop of curly, messy yet very handsome dark brown hair. He'd gotten taller, I noted idly. "Why are you staring at me?" he sighed, arching a delicate eyebrow at me.

I started and looked at him with a childish pout decorating my features. "You've gotten taller. Even taller than before. S'not fair." I grumbled. "People will think I'm your little sister or something."

"We could be here a week, and it wouldn't be enough to explain why that's the stupidest thing I've heard all day. I'll give you the short version. One, we look nothing alike." That was true. I had skin darker than him, almost a chocolate brown with long dark brown, almost black hair. With wide, dark brown eyes and thick eyebrows, Marc and I were polar opposites. He was like a ruler and I was the gardener working in the ruler's garden. "Two, I don't look that old" he continued, "and three; I've only grown two more inches. So there."

"Merlin Marc, it's called a figure of speech. No need to be so literal about everything."

"Yes yes. Now hush and change into your robes like a good child."

"Oi! Who are you calling a child?!"


	2. Black and Yellow

_**A/N: Heeyy! got ourselves a double update. Mostly cause I was bored… Anyway, I just had to clear something up. In my last author's note, I mixed the years up. My story is set in the**_ _ **fifth**_ _ **year. So enjoy :D**_

Black and Yellow

"You're a prefect? Nooooo!"

"Honestly Harp, no need to be so dramatic. I'm sure you can at least get inside the castle yourself", my sad excuse for a best friend said with his signature eye-roll.

"Ugh. I hate you"

"I love you too. Now off you go. Find your other furry little friends"

Seeing as I had no choice, I started searching for my other friends, the ones who were _actually_ in my own house. "Harper! Over here you blind girl!"

After a necessary eye-roll at her choice of insult, I turned around to see one of my closest friends, after Marcus. Meet Ada Pettitt. Probably the nicest person you'll ever meet. Her short golden hair and pixie like face often attracted the other gender, but our dear Ada was often oblivious to their advances. With a usual kind smile on her face, she said, "Come on then. I guess you're stuck with me for dinner."

I smiled back at her and looked over her head, looking for our other friend, Samara Gorman. Ada probably saw me looking for her, so with a small chuckle she explained, "Sam's with Cyrus. She always is now. Even on the train, couldn't stop talking about him. I honestly can't decide if it's annoying or endearing."

"Probably the former. Now come on, or we'll miss the carriages. I'm honestly in no mood for Filch's whining", I said while pulling her towards the Thestrals. If you're wondering, yes, I can see them. But it's really not because of some dramatic and horrific event. My grandfather got extremely sick when I was six, and I happened to be in the same room as him when his heart stopped beating. Anticlimax? Probably. But I preferred it that way. After climbing inside the carriage, I looked at Ada expectantly. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"Ada, my darling, wonderful friend", I said with a devious smile that would make Marcus proud, "It seems you're forgetting a certain bet we had?"

Groaning, Ada reached into her pocket and got out her Chocolate Frog card which had the Weird Sisters Dancing a little jig on it. You see we had a bet about whether or not Samara and Cyrus would get together or not. Victory was mine.

After a few more minutes of teasing each other and talking about our holidays, we reached the castle. Upon entering the Great Hall, I soaked in the feel of Hogwarts as much as I could. Sure it was hard sometimes when people would laugh at me about my house and never take me seriously, but Hogwarts was still and would always be my home. We quickly took our seats, while still trying to find Sam, and watched the sorting of the first years. The Headmistress, Professor McGonagall gave her usual speech and the feast _finally_ began. "Do you reckon they're in some cupboard snogging their heads off?" I asked Ada from around the roast chicken I was stuffing myself with.

"Nice way to put it Harp. Really", said my pixie like friend with a reproachful look. "Sam can do whatever she likes."

"You didn't answer my question though. Well well, speak of the devil! And where have you been young lady?" I asked after spotting Samara coming towards us.

Samara Gorman was also an extremely nice girl. (Well we are in Hufflepuff, what do you expect?) Her fair skin, with a few freckles dotting her cheeks and her light brown eyes and auburn hair made her very aesthetically pleasing. Yes I actually said that.

Samara blushed a deep red and tried stammering out an excuse. Of course no one fell for it. "I told you she was snogging her head off", I said with an 'I-told-you-so' look to Ada.

"I was n-not snogging C-Cyrus!" Sam said, trying to look indignant but failing miserably because of how red she looked.

"Nobody said anything about Cyrus", Ada said stated with a raised eyebrow accompanied with a very accusing look.

"Stop trying to explain and just sit down. We're just teasing, calm down", I said after seeing her rather panicked expression.

As soon as our conversation started on our O.W.L's, however, I started missing the topic of Sam's extracurricular activities.

"Come on guys, we have some time till we actually have to give them, so until then can we please talk about something else?" I practically begged.

"Harp's right until then we can ju- Harper, isn't that Athena?"

I looked to where Sam had pointed and sure enough my beautiful owl was coming my way. She was a barred owl, and personally the best pet anyone could ask for. "Well hello darling. How are you today?" I said to Athena as she hopped to my arm.

She hooted in greeting and stuck her leg out. I took the letter and gave her a piece of bacon to nibble on. My owl took it gratefully and flew off to the Owelry, probably. I examined the paper and a smile immediately found itself onto my face. I looked towards the Slytherin table and saw Marcus throw a lazy smile my way. Opening it up I read Marc's neat cursive writing say;

 _Meet me in front of the Slytherin common room at 11:45 tonight. Try not to be late._

Smiling, I nodded to him and busied myself with my food. I could barely wait to have a proper conversation with him. In truth, I had missed him a lot during the summers. Sure we sent letters to each other, but it wasn't the same. I looked up from my plate to find Sam and Ada giving me knowing looks.

"Oh sod off will you!" I said with an eye-roll.

"We didn't even say anything!" Sam exclaimed.

"Yes, but I know what you were thinking."

In the beginning, they had been freaked out about Marcus, along with the whole school. I was a Hufflepuff, he was a Slytherin. Our friendship was unnatural and went against too many _rules_. One being the fact that he's from a pureblood family, I'm not. My mother is a wizard (a hufflepuff like meee) and so was my father (he died when I was 1 but I'm told he was a Ravenclaw) and my grandparents were wizards too. However, my Great Grandfather was a muggle. Another problem was our houses. He was a Slytherin, he was supposed to hate me, call me dumb and stupid. I was a Hufflepuff; I was supposed to be meek and too afraid to even go near a Slytherin. As a result, both of us went through problems. Marc was made fun of; they called him a blood-traitor (you'd think they would get over it after Voldemort) and didn't take him seriously. But he dealt with it. He has a reputation now. Nobody dares say anything to him unless they want their kneecaps on backwards. As for me, my fellow Black and Yellow's were extremely wary of me. They never said anything to me straight out, but I barely had any friends during first year. Then they got to know me and they realized that I was as much hufflepuff as them and not some snake in disguise. So people dealt with it. We're still known as being the funny pair, but now more in an endearing way rather than a mocking way. Some jackasses still think it's a good idea to pick on me, being the one who isn't a big threat to their bodily wellness. However, Marcus soon deals with them too. Samara and Ada were also wary, but now fully approve of Marcus (mostly after seeing him defend me after someone thought it was a good idea to hex me while my back was turned).

"We weren't thinking anything, we were just going to say be careful when you're sneaking out'', Sam said patiently.

Even though the Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's classes were always together (the least volatile pairing), I usually snuck out to meet up with Marc at night so my friends knew my habits by now.

"I know, I know. Hey, did anyone see the Weird Sisters perform at Diagon Ally in the summer?"

And so I steered the conversation away from our meeting and we talked about everything and nothing during the feast. However, the anticipation of seeing my BFF was still there and I honestly couldn't wait for 11:45.

 _ **A/N: So there we have it! Some bonding in the furry friends. Next chapter will be Slytherpuff bonding. Yippee. Please do review you have no idea how happy it makes me. See you next time.**_


	3. Besties

_**A/N: Here you guys have some Slytherpuff bonding. Enjoy.**_

Besties

"And she's off to get expelled on her first night back to school, I really hope your bonding time is worth it", I heard Samara say from the couches.

"You're one to speak hypocrite. Who ditched her friends to snog her boyfriend?" I shot back.

"Lay off each other will you?" I heard Ada's voice pipe up. "Just make sure you don't get caught kay?"

"I know I know. See you later my lovelies!" I said while walking towards the exit of our common room.

"She's always more cheerful when she's doing something that'll get her in trouble."

"I heard that Samara Gorman and you will pay… when I get back."

"Try not to be late my arse."

I had been waiting for my stupid, idiotic, dastardly friend for ten minutes and dammit I was getting cold. Yep. I had decided. I was going back to my common room where is was nice and warm. Just as I had turned around, I heard footsteps behind me. Oh so now he decides to show up. "Harp wait!" I heard Marcus' voice say behind me.

However, I didn't stop, I merely stuck my hand over my shoulder and showed him my newly painted fingers. Well, one finger. I heard him breathing hard right behind me and felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned around to face him and tattooed my face with the most disdainful and unamused expression I could muster. "I know, I'm sorry. I got – I just got –well, busy."

I slowly took him in. He was flushed and was trying to even his irregular breathing. Along with the fact that his hair was sticking all over the place and he looked strangely dazed, it almost looked like…

I gasped loudly, my anger forgotten, and held Marc's shoulders, shaking him vigorously and exclaiming, "Who is it? You have to tell me!"

"What are you on about now", he scoffed brushing my hands off him.

I rolled my eyes, trying to keep my curiosity in check (and failing miserably). "Who were you snogging? You never told me you had a girlfriend!" Upon seeing his expression I knew he would try to make up some annoyingly logical lie so I quickly added, "And don't try to lie either. I'll know. You know I can always tell."

Giving a big sigh, he grudgingly relented, "It was Rosalyn Wisby. And, no, she's not my girlfriend. We were alone in the common room, just talking and suddenly, you know…" he trailed off, avoiding my eyes.

"Are you going to ask her out?" I asked expectantly.

"Yes. Yes I am"

I gave an obnoxious squeal and started badgering ( _ **A/N: no pun intended)**_ him with questions when he clamped a hand on my mouth. Giving me a warning glance, he slowly removed his hand.

"You're going to get us caught with all that ruckus. Now come on. Let's go to the Room of Requirement."

We had discovered it when Marcus had gotten a particularly hateful letter from home (specifically his father) and needed a place to vent. A door had opened and without thinking we entered. It was amazing. The whole school now knew about it and used it often, mostly because the Potter and Weasley children had spilled the secret. Walking to the place where it usually appeared, we waited for the door to show itself. As soon as we saw it, we entered and made ourselves at home. The decoration usually changed according to our moods and even this time, it didn't disappoint. Today a warm, welcoming fire burnt in the fireplace (thank Merlin, I'm pretty sure my toes were ice cubes) and fluffy, comfy couches sat in front of the warmth. There was a thick, soft rug in front of the sofas and there were even some chocolate frogs and other candies sitting on a table on the side. After settling ourselves, I started stuffing myself with sweets and other things that would probably make my teeth fall out. I looked up and saw Marc looking at me with an amused expression on his face.

"What did I do now?" I said sighing, putting my food down.

"Nothing at all you silly girl. I just missed you is all. A boy can missed his best friend after all. It's not a sin."

My expression softened and I immediately leant forward and wrapped my arms around him. Yeah yeah, I know, the Hufflepuff likes hugs. Surprise surprise. He responded in kind and hugged me back. He would only ever do that alone. If he did it in public, he'd be labeled weak. Stupid right? Who doesn't like hugs? "Was he hard on you again?" I asked, still wrapped around him.

Marcus' father was, to put it lightly, a jackass. He hated me (you know, the whole Hufflepuff and not pureblood family thing) and did _not_ approve of our friendship. Thus, he gave Marcus a whole lot of crap for no damn reason. 'You shouldn't associate yourself with filth', Marcus had almost hexed his own father for that. 'You're a disappointment to the family", he'd come to me and cried for that one. 'You don't deserve the title of pureblood', he'd… no he'd been okay with that one. "Nah, it wasn't that bad. He left after a month and then it was okay. Mum wanted to invite you over but I told her you'd want to spend time with your own mom", Marc explained, extracting himself from my arms and lying down on the couch so his head was on the arm of the sofa and his legs were on my lap.

Marcus' mother was a sweetheart and I still didn't understand how she ever could have married the waste of human flesh that was her husband.

I nodded and scooted myself in a more comfortable position as well. "Was she alright, your Mum?" Marc asked me. He was asking because he knew my mother was alone at home and I hadn't exactly been comfortable with that.

I sighed and shrugged. "She told me she'd be fine and that she'd take up knitting", at this, Marc let out a small chuckle, "and that we'd write to each other daily so we'd be in touch, but… I'm still worried about her. Though Abel promised me that he'd keep dropping by, Julia even promised she'd stay over. That makes me feel better, I suppose."

Marcus lifted his head, looking surprised, "Abel and Julia are still a thing?"

"Yep. Apparently they're real serious bout each other."

"Good for them, I guess. They seem happy", he replied.

Abel, my brother, had met Julia Dorkins at Auror Training School and they had started dating a few months ago. That reminded me…

"Oi you sneaky snake! You totally distracted me. Nooooww… tell me more about our dear Rosalyn."

I heard my BFF groan and throw his arm over his eyes, not replying. "Don't you ignore me Hopkins, I'm getting an answer, even if it's the last thing I do."

Probably knowing I wasn't exaggerating, he sighed and sat up. "She's nice. Not like the others you know. She's good friends with Potter. ( _ **A/N: to those who haven't read cursed child, Albus Potter is in Slytherin)**_ She doesn't judge people either and it helps that she's really pretty. Satisfied?"

"Hmmm. I see. And where do you plan to take her out?" I replied.

"Hogsmeade, probably."

"Good. I've taught you well my apprentice."

"Please", he scoffed, "I was born smooth."

"Sorry, I can't hear you over your huge ego."

Rolling his eyes, Marcus stood up, stretching. "You need to get some sleep, and so do I. Remember, we have classes starting tomorrow."

I groaned, also getting up. "But I don't want to."

"I'm sure you don't. Now let's go. And I _beg_ of you. _Stay quiet._ "

Leaving the Come & Go room, we quickly said our farewells and parted ways. Walking towards the kitchens, my thoughts wandering to my Mum, I suddenly heard voices. Quickly casting a Disillusionment Charm and pressing myself against the wall, I waited for who ever it was to pass by.

The pair came into view and I just couldn't suppress the urge to roll my eyes. It was Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley, holding each others hands, talking in hushed voices. Suddenly, I got an idea that would make Peeves proud. Removing the Disillusionment Charm, I stepped out from the shadows. Stepping close to them, making my voice as deep and intimidating as I could, I spoke, "And who do we have heeeere?"

The sight which followed made me wish I had my muggle camera with me. They both flew apart from each other like the other was a poison of the worst kind. Rose was… well as red as a rose. She tried stammering an excuse at the same time as Scorpius so they were making absolutely no sense. Not being able to hold my laughter any longer I cackled loudly, hoping there were no teachers around. Hearing my laughter, both the students heads shot up and they visibly relaxed in relief. "Oh hello Harper", Scorpius gulped, "I-we-we-were-well."

"What Malfoy? You were just on your way back from a snogging session?" I teased.

If it was even possible, Rose blushed even darker. "We weren't. I mean that-that's not t-true", she managed to stutter out.

I looked at her incredulously and said, "Wow. Simply wow. I didn't think you guys were actually the oblivious."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rose questioned, looking thoroughly confused.

"You honestly think you have the whole school fooled? _Every single person_ knows you two are an item. Even Hagrid, hell even Filch knows" I replied shaking my head in disbelief.

Both Scorpius and Rose looked at each other with scared faces, apparently this being news to them. I simply chuckled and patted Rose on the shoulder and said "And next time, try casting an invisibility spell, kay?"

And with that, I walked away from the still blushing and shocked couple, exceedingly pleased with myself.

Upon reaching the portrait, I tickled the pear, tapped the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' on the barrels in the kitchens and entered my common room. Sneaking into my room, I heard Ada's soft snoring and Sam's even breathing. Satisfied they were asleep; I quickly undressed and climbed into bed. I looked at my watch which was lying on my bedside table, and was surprised to see the clock face showing 1:00. Had it really been that long?

Sighing, I closed my eyes I felt myself drifting off, and I had feeling I would dream of happy things.

 _ **A/N: hoped you liked it. I'm just updating a lot because I have my holidays right now and I get really bored. Please review. Please. Please. Please. Please. Plea- no okay I'll stop.**_


	4. Authors Note

_**A/N: Hey guys! This is not an update; I'm just letting you know that since school is starting again**_ __ _ **I'm going to have an update schedule now. I'll be updating every weekend rather than randomly ;P Soooo. See you next weekend then. BBBBYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_


	5. The girl

_**A/N: Hello fellow hoomans. Yes I know I'm updating like a crazy person, but that's what happens when your bored to the point that you start planning the murder of those you hate…Did I say that out loud? *nervous laugh* you know what I'm just gonna shut up so you can read now. Enjoy*dramatic hand movements***_

Try it, just try it, I dare you to.

"HARPER GREY IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF BED NOW, I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT THE PROFESSERS FIND YOUR SECRET STASH OF ANTIQUE LIQUORICE WANDS AND THAT OTHER STUFF YOU BOUGHT OFF WEASLEY!"

Knowing that the few threats Ada did give were rarely empty ones, I shot out of bed, trying to scramble out as fast as I could. It turns out I was too thoroughly wrapped in my blanket and soon found myself lying face first on the ground. "Are you alright Harp? Really Ada! You didn't have to be so harsh about it", I heard my new favorite person in the world said (Sam).

"Well she refused to get out of bed!" I heard an indignant Ada shoot back.

Soon, I felt a hand on my shoulder helping me up. Giving Sam a grateful look, I sprinted to the bathroom to freshen up before another lecture from Ada was thrown my way. Quickly getting into my robes and collecting my books I went down to the common room where my friends were waiting. Looking around, I couldn't stop the smile that was forming on my face. The black and yellow walls always made me feel cozy along the glowing fire. Above the fireplace, the portrait of the lady I owed my house to hung proudly, the wooden mantelpiece carved all over with dancing badgers. The wide variety of plants present, like; the various cactii that stood on wooden circular shelves (curved to fit the walls), and copper bottomed plant holders dangling amid the ceiling causing tendrils of ferns and ivies to brush your head as you walked by- showed off the Hufflepuff's knack of Herbology and seemed to relish the atmosphere of the room. Since the windows were just level to the ground, we could see the rippling grass and the dandelions along with occasional passing feet. The low windows made the room perennially sunny and the round, low ceilinged room which looked awfully like a badgers set could somehow still look cozy even in a thunderstorm. "If you're done admiring the room you've seen for the last four years, we should get to breakfast."

Ada's voice snapped me out of my daydream and I looked towards her, expecting to see her annoyed, but found her with a similar expression of fondness while looking around. And suddenly I had a moment of revelation in which I thanked my lucky stars (and the Sorting Hat) for putting me in Hufflepuff. Here, you could just take a moment to stop and admire the place in which you made so many memories and spent so much time without anyone judging you. In fact, others would join you. Almost as if to prove my point, Sam appeared beside Ada and gave a dreamy smile. "Feels good to be back, doesn't it?"

Grinning, my sour mood caused by waking up in such a haphazard manner gone, I replied, "It sure does."

"I dare you to fit this entire stack of pancakes in your mouth."

"Pu-lease. I could do that in my sleep", I replied brushing some non-existent dust from my shoulder.

I had been sitting with my fellow badgers in the Great Hall, enjoying stuffing myself with as much food as I could when this proposition was presented to me by a boy in my year named John Fancourt. Of course being the badass person I was, I just couldn't say no. Just as I reached towards the pancakes, my hands were slapped away by an exasperated Sam. "Enough fooling around Har, now if you're done filling yourself to the brim with food, we should got to class. Almost everyone's already left."

With me grumbling about my russet headed friend being a buzz kill, Samara, Ada and I exited the Great Hall, heading to our first class, History of Magic, taught by our very own ghost. Yes, Professor Binns still taught at Hogwarts. It was unfortunate, really. Even though attending his class was the equivalent of tying yourself to a chair and staring at a wall, it couldn't be missed. Especially not now, with our O.W.L's this year. Seating ourselves, I looked around for Marcus and seeing him on the other side of the class, yawning widely, I mentally prepared myself for the endless droning of the teacher. As soon as the class was over, I snapped my edition of A History of Magic shut and practically sprinted out of the room. Marcus followed me out in the hallway where I was waiting for him. "You seemed in a hurry to get out of there", he said, smirking.

I opened my mouth to reply but was quickly cut off by a girl, who seemed oddly familiar, running up to Marc and landing a kiss on his cheek. Snapping my mouth shut and narrowing my eyes, I observed her. She had silky dark blonde hair that reached her shoulders and dark eyes with thick lashes framing them. She was taller than me, but that came as no surprise as most of the population was. With my vertically challenged self being only 5'2, the mystery girl landed on about 5'6, only 3 inches shorter than Marcus. She was… well developed. Obviously, comfortably out of the awkward phase that seemed to be upon me perpetually. Her ivory skin shone, much like her hair, indicating a life of wealth and comfort. A green and black scarf was wrapped around her neck and it suddenly clicked. Of course, who else would dare to kiss Marcus? My eyes settled themselves back on her attractive face. _Rosalyn._ I was surprised when, at her name, I nearly grimaced. I had only ever seen her from afar and occasionally heard some story about her, never actually been in contact with her. Now actually being face to face with, I found myself immediately disliking her. The way she batted her eyelashes at Marcus and nearly sneered at me, made me wonder at how my best friend hadn't seen right through her just as he had all the other girls who had thrown themselves at him. All of Marc's old girlfriends, I had loved. They were lovely to me and genuine towards their feelings concerning Marcus. But her, she reeked of fickleness and arrogance. It made me want to gag. "Where were you at breakfast Marky?" she spoke up, her voice low and soft, rather than the screechy voice I had been expecting. Marky? He hated it when I called him that, so why wasn't he objecting now? And I knew why he hadn't come to breakfast. Anyone close to him would. Because he wasn't a morning person. Like AT ALL. So rather than him coming down to breakfast and snapping at and possibly cursing anyone within a five foot radius, we had convinced a nice house-elf from the kitchens called Snicky to deliver breakfast to him in his dorm. Simple solution really. "I simply didn't feel up to it", he lied smoothly.

But why? Why was he lying? Seeing my confused look, he subtly shook his head. Apparently the girl (I had decided to just call her the girl) had finally decided to pay some attention to me. "Oh you must be Harper. I'm Rosalyn."

Plastering a friendly smile on my face I replied, "Nice to meet you." Turning towards Marcus who looked confused upon seeing my smile (he could see right through it) I said, "I should get going. Ada and Sam will be waiting. See you later." And with that, I turned on my heel and walked towards my friends who indeed were waiting for me. "What was that?" Samara asked curiously. "What are talking about?" I replied.

"Oh hush. Don't try to play dumb, we heard, rather saw, the whole thing. What was up with that girl?" Ada stated, waving her hand.

Sighing, I dodged some over-enthusiastic first years who had decided it was a good idea to chase Filch's cat. "I don't really know. Apparently she's Marc's new girlfriend. I'm getting a real bad vibe from her though."

"I feel you Harp, that girl looked like bad news", Sam agreed.

Suddenly, a wide smile bloomed on her face as she looked over the heads of the other students crowding the hallways. "Cyrus! Over here", she called out. A tall boy approached us. He had a mixture of blond and black hair, giving him a salt and pepper look. He had soft features, with wide, light brown doe eyes giving him a dreamy look. His slightly pointed chin and permanent polite smile gave him an extreme upper hand when it came to other gender. He was a Ravenclaw through and through. Truly fulfilling the traits. He was intelligent, accepting and extremely creative. Sam and him had been friends for a year and a half now, and I had also grown quite close to him. "Good morning ladies. How was your first class?" his charming voice piped up.

Giving him a toothy smile, I spoke, "Professor Binns was as usual boring us to the point of considering Euthanasia ( _ **A/N: Where a person specifically asks for help in ending their life**_ ) in fact, I do believe that that is his master plan. He's going to make us kill each other. He always gave me the serial killer type feel."

Rolling his eyes, Cyrus gave me crooked smile, "Dramatic as usual I see. So Harper is obviously doing okay, though you never _do_ know what's going on in your weird little head."

Feigning extreme hurt, I clutched my chest, gasping, "How dare you?!" Then narrowing my eyes, I added, "Just because my friend has given you a free pass to grope her at every turn does not mean you are safe from some sort of creative and ingenious act of violence that will never be traced backed to me."

Beside me, Ada cleared her throat, probably deciding to intervene before it grew to a full on back and forth between Cyrus and I. So while the couple now behind us were trying to control their blushing and gaping, Ada and I moved to our next class.

And so the whole day passed in a flurry of books, words, teachers and friends. Actually, one friend stayed missing. My best friend. I didn't see Marcus and the girl for the whole day.


	6. Changing

_**A/N: You guys have no idea how much I despised the last chapter. Basically, my dad has the laptop currently and he's out of city, so when he came home for the weekend I was writing as fast as I could, then the stupid laptop started glitching and blah blah blah and the incomplete chapter was uploaded. Sooo… yeahh. Anyway, hopefully this chapter will redeem me.*crosses fingers and toes***_

Changing

"5 knuts?"

"Grey, I've already told you, I don't know where Marcus is. Offering me money isn't going to make me suddenly know where he's gone", Albus Potter said with a huff.

After searching all day and all over for my green eyed friend, I'd given up and decided to find a housemate of his. The first one coming to mind being the infamous Albus Potter, I'd hurried over to the library where he was known to spend quite a bit of his time.

A boy of my own heart, really.

Anyways, upon spotting him with his nose deep in an extremely musty and ancient looking book with Scorpius seated next to him, idly twirling his wand in his hand, I had rushed over and demanded to know the whereabouts of Marc(though not after sending Scorpius a knowing wink which made him flush a deep red). However, it was quite pointless. Neither had seen him after first period, the same as me.

"Maybe he's with his new girlfriend?" Scorpius suggested, carefully avoiding eye contact with me.

Honestly, the thought had occurred to me. Multiple times. Contrary to popular belief, Hufflepuffs really weren't that dumb. But it was just easier to refuse the fact that my best friend had ditched me for some girl. Or rather, the girl.

My mood darkening by the second, I merely waved a goodbye to the two boys in green. One of which had already returned his attention to his book and the other preoccupied with trying to balance his wand on his nose. Sighing I trudged to my room. As soon as I saw my bed, my mood considerably lightened. Landing face first on it, I let out a long groan.

"No luck then, I assume", I heard Ada's cheerful voice say from the bed next to mine.

I mumbled out a reply, then adjusted myself on my lover until I was comfortably curled up, my head resting on the fluffy pillow. Just as I felt my eyes close, Sam piped up, "Hey Harp, have you completed that Potions essay yet?"

Groaning as I felt the sandman's pull leave me, I sat up and scowled at my two companions, both who were sprawled on their respective beds, parchment and ink spread before them. Still scowling, I reached inside my bag and upon finding the half finished essay, let out a tired sigh and began my work. An hour and a smuggled jumbo pack of Cheetos later, we were done. And just in time for dinner too. We tidied our room, since Sam and I were neat freaks, and headed out to the Great Hall. The usual hustle bustle of the hall having an immediate calming effect on me, brought a smile to my face. I wouldn't let the fact that Marcus couldn't be bothered to let me know where he was bog me down. No siree. Feeling myself relax, I headed to the table which held the badgers. "Evening Anne", I said to the chubby, blonde girl who had become a good friend over the years.

"H-hello Harper", she replied amiably with the stutter she's had since she was 11.

"Found your slippery friend yet? Hee hee. See what I did there, snakes are slippery… and he's a Slytherin… No? Nobody get it?" Roger, a fourth year boy with wild, golden hair said.

Rolling my eyes and seating myself in between Sam and Anne with Roger and Ada across from us, I replied, "We all got it Rog, it was just a bad joke."

"You're no fun", he shot back with a fake pout.

"Whatever you say Roger. But to answer your question, no I didn't find Marcus. But, honestly, it's not a big deal. He's probably… around. He can do what he wants", I said with a nonchalant shrug.

And I meant it too. I wasn't about to become one of those weird clingy friends. Nope. And I was overreacting anyways. So for the remainder of the evening, I busied myself with jokes, food and badgers. However, it didn't escape my notice how I still thought of Marcus. And this scared me. It was true that in the beginning of our friendship, I hid behind him, depending on him when I was bullied and mocked. He was always there for me. So yes, it was also probably true that I needed him more than he needed me. He was stronger, and definitely didn't need a stupid Hufflepuff for a friend.

' _You're over-analysing',_ I mentally scolded myself and distracted myself as well as I could.

After a good night's sleep, I felt much better. Going through the daily routine of brushing, dressing and attempting to murder Ada for waking me up, I was soon walking towards Potions. Entering the dark classroom, I squinted, trying to look for Marcus. Immediately, I spotted his curly brown hair and started walking towards his seat, with the intentions of sitting next to him… only to find the spot already filled. By none other than _the girl._ I felt a rush of anger, but quickly pushed it down. I wasn't going to make any assumptions nor was I going to make judgments about the girl, though it might be a little late for that. Standing in front of his table I felt even more angry when I realized he hadn't even noticed me yet. I loudly cleared my throat and said to Marcus, without even sparing a glance towards her (like I said, it might be a little late for the not making judgments part) "Morning M, I didn't see you all day yesterday. Everything okay?"

He finally raised his head towards me and I was disappointed to find a smirk painted across his face. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by _her_ voice. "Marky and I were simply spending some time with each other. You see there is _absolutely no_ privacy in the Slytherin common room", she finished while shooting a *gag* adoring look to Marcus.

In return, he grabbed her cheek and *ew ew ew* placed a kiss on her lips. Gross. I was quite horrified to see that they weren't even thinking about stopping any time soon! Clearing my throat and giving them a great look of disgust, I walked away, muttering, "Get a room. Talk about PDA people. Sheesh"

From the corner of my eye, I saw they had finally dislodged their tongues from each other's throats, but I couldn't be bothered to try to talk to him again. I was disgusted. And freaked out. And angry. And concerned. What was wrong with him. He hated couples who kissed in public and was always dead against doing it himself. He wasn't himself. He didn't apologize for ditching me, and he didn't even really tell me where they were yesterday. Huffing, ( _ **A/N:I just realized something. Huffing and puffing = Hufflepuff… I think I'm onto something here)**_ I seated myself next to Anna and tried not to look at Marcus and the girl… it was kind of hard to though. But it wasn't only me. The whole class was looking at the pair as if they had grown two heads. The reason to this was probably the fact that they kept swapping saliva every time the professor's back was turned. Anna turned to me and gave me a questioning look, but I just shrugged. I mean, what could I say? I had no idea what was happening to him. He'd been fine the night we had met up in the Room of Requirement, then. BAM! 180 degree turn. It was confusing.

For the whole day after that, the case was the same. Ignoring me, snogging her, giving people who were looking at them challenging looks and basically being an utter asshole, sorry for my potty mouth. As the evening approached, I didn't even bother leaving the comfort of the common room. Usually at this time, Marc and I would be spending time with each other, playing pranks, complaining about random things and picking fights (he'd pick fights, I'd diffuse the situation). But now, I really didn't want to be around him. 'He'd probably bring the girl with him too', I thought with distaste. Also, he hadn't actually made a move to come and spend time with me. I felt sadness, fear and anger bubble up inside me. I just felt so – before I could finish the thought, however, I heard a voice say, "I brought snacks love!"

Looking up from where I had been sulking on my bed, I saw Sam enter the room with a brown paper bag in her hand. She had a kind smile on her face as she pushed the bag into my arms. "Thanks Sammy", I said, though it came out jumbled through the donuts I had already stuffed in my mouth.

"Oh it's no biggie. Though it's not me you should be thanking, it's the house elves."

I nodded. It made sense. The Hufflepuffs were always nice to the elves so naturally they went overboard with pampering us. Not that I was complaining. It also helped that our common room was through the kitchens, we couldn't help running into them on most days. I continued stuffing myself as Sam sat on the foot of my best friend. "If it's any consolation, I think he's being an asshole too."

I gave her a smile, a real one, and nodded. "It is Sam. It really is."

"Where's Ada?"

Sam rolled her eyes and crossed her legs. "You know her. She's off socializing with some random person she met five minutes ago."

Laughing, I nodded and handed her a donut. "Is it bad that I'm more worried about him than angry at him?" I asked with a heavy sigh.

"It kind of is. He's the one who's being a jerk, not you. But I don't blame you. It's in your nature Harp. You care about others more than yourself", she replied with a ghost of a smile on her face.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, a devious smile found its way onto Samara's face. Since these type of smiles never meant anything good, I raised an eyebrow while raising my hands as if protecting myself.

"Want to play Exploding Snap?"

Crap.


	7. Support?

_**A/N: Here you are guys, another chapter for my wonderful readers. I'm so so sorry for late posting, but I had internet problems. Yes, I know. Internet problems. -_- OMG something really weird happened to me that day. I went to the hospital for an ultrasound of my throat cause my thyroids were swollen. So I went and lied down on the table thingy and the nurse came and lifted my shirt up and tried pulling my pants down! She lowkey thought I was pregnant and I'm just like NO I AM STILL A PURE VIRGIN CHILD OF GOD! Yeah… so other that, I'd like to make a special shout-out to FortyFandoms, who is one of the biggest reasons that I continued this story. MUAAAH!**_

Support?

'How about the Great Lake?"

"Good idea, I feel nauseous around him", I replied to Sam, who after putting up with my whining about Marcus, who was the same as the whole of last week, had finally decided we needed some relaxing time.

It was a good thing too. A whole week of PDA, ignoring me and being a brat and I felt like breaking down into tears. I missed my best friend. A lot. So as Sam and I walked to the Black Lake to unwind for the weekend, I felt myself curse the girl. Barely a day into school and she messed with his brain. Or was it a day into school? What if they had been talking all summer and he just hadn't told me? Again I felt that sense of betrayal that plagued me since Marcus lost his mind.

"Snap out of it!"

Startled out of my thoughts, I looked up at Sam who was glaring at me. "What do you mean?"

Rolling her eyes, she said, sounding beyond exasperated, "You're thinking about that dickhead again and I'm sick of it. Either snap out of it or go sulk in the dorms!"

Raising my hands in surrender, I gave her a smile and nodded. "Sorry you're right. Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't you with Cyrus right now? I mean I'm beyond grateful you're here, but I assumed you'd prefer his company rather than mine?"

Abruptly stopping, she gave me a pointed look and spoke, "Now how did you manage to think up things like that? I love both of you equally!"

"Soooo… you hanging out with me rather than your boyfriend has nothing to do with the fact that he has Quidditch practice right now?" I replied with a cheeky smile.

"I-I I mean… oh do shut up!"

Reaching our destination we settled ourselves in the shade of a large tree on the banks of the lake. Sam took out some sandwiches she had packed and we quickly descended into a comfortable silence. However, the peaceful quite was short lived. The sound of voices and the crunching of leaves reached our ears as we looked around for the source of the disturbance. Unfortunately, the sight wasn't a welcome one.

 _Kenny Cragg_ ,I thought with a grimace.

A Gryffindor, the Quidditch team Beater, prefect, a teacher's pet, topping in most classes and a scumbag through and through. Now judging from my previous reactions to the girl and now to Cragg, you'd think I was a mean, judgmental person. I, in fact, would like to believe I'm the opposite of such a thing. However, Cragg earned himself a special spot on the 'Extreme-Dislike' list. This is mostly because of the fact that he hates Hufflepuffs. Why, you ask? I don't really know. Since my first year, Cragg has deemed me a worthy victim and thus, labeled himself my biggest tormenter. After I befriended Marcus, he still tried picking on me, but Marc scared him away and for the previous year, Cragg had indeed left me well alone. So it was for this reason I nearly wet myself as he walked towards me. Smirk, check. Entourage, check. Wand out, check. Yep, I was screwed. I immediately regretted not bringing Ada along. You see, the result of my deductions was, that our dear bully Kenny had a crush on my friend. Now, admittedly, there was no proof, but I had noticed that whenever she was around, he restrained from jinxing me. However, probably due to my rotten luck, Ada was currently busy in the greenhouses, elbows deep in caring for some plant or another. "Well well. Would you look who it is? Harper Grey, loser extraordinaire! I must say, the highlight of my summer was probably the fact that I didn't have to go through the torture of seeing you everyday", he leered from a few meters away.

Still seated on the ground next to Sam, (who was staring wide eyed at the Jerk King) I tried to act confidant and said, "And yet it seems you're the one who always seeks me out."

At this, his smirk turned into a toothy grin. "True enough, true enough. You see, I'm actually here to ask you something. The thing is Grey, I heard from a little birdie, that you're snake friend finally saw some sense and ditched you for that, frankly hot chick. Is it true?" after ending, he held out his wand like a mike and looked at me expectantly. Feeling his words caress my doubts and whispering to them to come forward, I quickly tried to reign in my emotions. I wouldn't let him gain the satisfaction of seeing me sad. I just wouldn't. Trying to distract myself, I studied the features of the lion in front of me. Grayish-blue eyes that looked like a storm waiting to happen, pale skin dotted with freckles, a medium sized nose and short, dark hair. I wouldn't lie, he was handsome. But his picture was tainted by all the times he'd made me hate my house. Made me think that I was dumb and not worthy to be put in any house that _mattered_ , in his words. "What's wrong? Lion got your tongue?" he sneered as his friends, rather lackeys, laughed at his pathetic joke.

With an effort, I brought myself to roll my eyes. "Nope, just wondering what to say to someone as stupid as you."

Sighing, Cragg looked almost disappointed. "I came here for entertainment, and you can't even be decent enough to give me a good comeback. How typical. Guess I'll just have find someone more fun than you", he said while slowly raising his wand.

My eyes widening, I quickly scrambled to my feet, trying to get my wand out before he could use his. But to no avail.

" _ **Aqua Eructo**_ _!"_

A jet of water made its way to me, too fast and too powerful for me to dodge, soaking me from head to toe. I must have looked like a sight. Dripping and shivering, the mascara Sam had forced me to wear running down my face like a cliché breakup scene. I looked up to see the Gryffindors laughing their heads off while Sam shouted at them, something they weren't really paying attention to. All this while, I just tried to stop the tears from flowing as Marcus' words rang in my head. I had been crying because Cragg's friend had made my hair blue, when Marc had hexed them all to kingdom come and knelt down beside me. He had said " _It's okay Harp. They're not gonna bother you. Never again. I'm not going to let them. You're safe."_

I felt anger, red hot anger flow in my veins as a thought about my friend's _promise_. Breathing hard, I raised my wand and pointed it at the prefect before me and spoke clearly. _**"Flipendo!"**_

Immediately, Kenny was knocked to the ground causing his friends to stop their idiotic laughter and try to help him up. They all looked up at me, and I could tell what their intentions were, but I was two steps ahead. " _ **Protego!" "Cantis!"**_

I felt a surge of pride for myself when Kenny suddenly burst into an out of tune song and even as his minions tried to hold their laughter in, I marched to Sam, grabbed her elbow and started heading towards our dorms before Cragg remembered to hex me back. Crossing the corridors, I wasn't really looking where I was going, my tears blurring my vision. Even though I was feeling great about myself for fighting back, Marcus' promise haunted my brain along with Cragg's words. I suppose I had been waiting for him to ditch me along time ago, deep in my heart. He didn't need me. Why would he? He was an influential, scary Slytherin. I was a Hufflepuff who was only known for being Marc's friend. Suddenly I felt Sam's grip on my arm vanish and found myself crashing into a solid chest, then falling to the ground. Hard. "Harp?"

Looking up, I couldn't decide whether to cry into his shirt or slap his idiotic face. He looked concerned, his brows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Before I could answer though, Sam spoke up. "What happened? Seriously? Oh you know, the typical. Running into your regular bully and getting hexed and you know the best part? Her best friend is nowhere in sight!" she practically screamed at Marcus.

His eyes were wide and relief flooded me (as much as I hated myself for it) when he gave me an apologetic and truly sorrowful look. However, before he could say anything, I heard the girl speak up. WHY DID SHE ALWAYS HAVE TO SHOW UP WHERE SHE WASN'T WANTED?! "Oh dear, I knew Hufflepuffs were odd, but I didn't know they took dips in the Great Lake for fun."

Anger made my vision red, but I was set on seeing Marc's reaction to this. If it was anyone else, he would have made them grow antlers, but now, the only reaction I saw was his eyes hardening and became devoid of any emotion. Then, his face twisted into a… sneer? "I know right. Come along Rose, we should probably let her go to her dorms. She's making the corridors all wet", and with that, he walked away.

This time, I didn't even try to hold my tears in.

 _ **A/N: So guys, I imagined Kenny (Jerk King) looking like Asa Butterfield. What did you guys think? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REEEVVIIEEEEE! Maybe Marcus will give you a kiss. *wink wink***_

 _ **Marcus: …No**_

 _ **Me: He's just joking. *whispers to Marc* do you want reviews or not?!**_

 _ **Marcus: *sigh* fine. I'll give you a damn kiss. But nobody, I said NOBODY will hear about this!**_

 _ **Me: *rolls eyes* so dramatic…**_

 _ **(Also this is unedited so be nice)**_


	8. Reasons

_A/N: Yo friends, I'm so so so so sorry for the screwy updates but, firstly I'm writing on two different laptops and secondly my exams are starting from Monday. *sigh* anyway, try to enjoy my rushed writing since I wanted to give you guys something to pacify you for the time being. Yes yes, it is sort of a filler. PREPARE TO SWOON AT THE HANDS OF CYRUS MCDREAMIE! *thunder claps in distance*_

 **Reasons**

"Bollocks."

"Don't swear, its not a nice habit!"

"See its from people like you that us Hufflepuffs get our stereotypes. That's barely even a swear word!"

I sighed, listening to Sam and Ada argue. Usually I would immediately join in, but the incident that took place a week and a half ago was still heavy in my mind. I had sobbed like an asthmatic donkey for a good one hour before composing myself and trying to get back to normal. He was acting like an arrogant toe rag and there was nothing I could do about it. However, losing my best friend put a constant damper on my mood these days. Sam and Ada were helpful, keeping me busy, always by my side, but still, I missed him, a lot. Suddenly, I felt a hand wrap around my arm and I was pulled up. Startled, I looked to see who it was and felt a smile break out upon seeing Cyrus. "You never struck me as the moping type Harper."

I gasped dramatically and yanked my arm from his grip and crossed my arms over my chest. "I am NOT moping!" I said indignantly.

Rolling his eyes, he pulled a smitten Sam to his side and said, "Yeah yeah. You better be coming to my Quidditch match Grey, I plan to beat those sons of voldemort snakes."

Tilting my head to the side, I thought it over in my head. "Oh no no no, you don't have a choice in the matter. I will grant you justice in the form of Marcus' broken broom."

Smirking, I ruffled his hair. "Is that a promise then?"

Huffing and trying in vain to fix _his pprreeecciiouuss_ , he nodded. "You bet Harp."

(skip to the quidditch match)

"And another point for Slytherin! Both teams are tying, it could go either way."

I crossed my fingers and cheered along with everyone in the crowd. I was rooting for the Ravenclaw team along with Sam and Ada who were right beside me. Sam was cheering so loud, I felt like someone was drilling in my ears but I didn't say anything. She was excited for him, who was I to judge? "OH AND RAVENCLAW SCORE AT THE LAST MINUTE! THEY'VE WON AND ARE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT MATCH WITH GRYFFINDOR!"

That snapped me out of my thoughts and soon everyone was rushing on to the quidditch pitch. I was right along with everyone when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I felt myself being pulled behind the stands and as soon as the pressure left my shoulder, I spun around to see who it was. I had a guess. I wasn't wrong. I narrowed my eyes at Marcus and crossed my arms over my chest, and silently observed him. He was slightly sweaty from qiudditch, his usually flawless hair kind of disheveled. His arms were limp at his sides but the most prominent thing were the bruises under his eyes. He looked like he wasn't sleeping at all, and that was crazy since sleep for him was almost as his hair. "Harp…" he said in a tired voice.

Still, I was silent.

He ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit, and hung his head. I saw, with no little amount of worry, that he was breathing hard and… were those? No they couldn't be. Marcus couldn't be crying. Marcus NEVER cried. Not even when his dad tried to Imperius him into becoming the _perfect Slytherin_. "Harp, I messed up so bad. I'm so confused and so- so scared. I cant lose you but… hes just gone crazy! You need to understand, _please Harper_ ," it started off quite, shaky, but now he was looking at me with desperate eyes, almost crazed.

I hesitated. i couldn't help it. I had imagined when I would talk to him, I would slap him like Rose's mother apparently did to Scorpius's father, but looking at him now, my best friend instincts were off the chart. "What do you mean?" I said in such a quite voice, I wondered if he even heard. He perked up, looking sort of like a puppy and I felt myself melt even further after seeing the gratefulness in his deep green eyes.

He cracked a watery smile and nodded hard. I inwardly sighed, hoping I wasn't being an idiot…

 _A/N: HMMMMMM.. I wonder if his reason is big enough that Harper can forgive him… Who is the 'he' Marc was talking about? Guess we'll find out next time 3 OMG GUYS, I found(more like my brother found this band) and fam, I. am. In. love. Go check them out, the name is HIPPO CAMPUS. Don't forget to review, this time, since Marcus was rejected for being a jerk, my cinnamon roll Cyrus will give you a kiss._

 _ **Cyrus: I will?**_

 _ **Me: yep *whispers in ear* play along!**_

 _ **Cyrus: um, okay. *Turns to face you* Well then come on sweetheart, press the button and you'll get a taste of real Ravenclaw talent. *winks and smirks***_

 _ **Sam: I HEARD THAT. NO KISSES FOR A MONTH!**_

 _ **Cyrus: crap.**_


	9. Explanation

_**A/N: Right, so here you have your next chapter. I'm feeling really gross today, like I don't even know why. Even ice cream didn't make me feel better! ICE CREAM! How is that even possible?! *sigh* But you know what will make me feel LOADS better? You guessed it… REVIEWSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!**_

Explanations

I didn't speak. I just looked at him, silently, waiting for his reasons. He seemed to be trying to gather his thoughts. Upon observation, you would think he'd fallen asleep standing or something, but of course I knew better. He was compartmentalizing everything. It's what he did when he felt overwhelmed, he put all his thought and feelings into little boxes in his head, where they belonged, as he'd say. His eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly with his hands limp at his sides, his entire demeanor relaxed, something he probably wasn't in reality.

But still, I just waited. If a Ravenclaw had been standing in my place, they would have done the logical thing and probably kicked him in nuts and walked away with their cool intact. A Gryffindor would have punched him the mouth, no hesitation. A Slytherin would have rehearsed and done exactly what he did to me, only probably worse. But in the core of my heart, I was a Hufflepuff. Through and through. What a hufflepuff should be. Not meek, submissive and stupid as the stereotypes would be so happy to pretend. Rather, loyal till the very end, even after every promise Marcus had gone back on in the last month alone, I was still loyal.

 _Unfortunately_ , I thought with a mental shake of my head.

I had always been outspoken, a fact most people couldn't comprehend after seeing me in the yellow and black. It was just who I was. Still, I always thought of how the other person would be affected by what I said. And even after everything, just like a Hufflepuff was supposed to, I was willing to hear Marcus out.

"I'm sorry", he finally said, his voice now calm and steady.

"Not nearly good enough", I replied with a shrug, a bland expression painting my face.

He didn't seem surprised by my answer; rather he seemed to have been expecting it because he merely nodded.

Silence, as we observed each other. It stretched and stretched until it felt like an uncross able bridge between us. But I would cross it. I would cross it, and if it wasn't worth it, I would simply cross back and never walk over it again. But despite these rather confident thought, I mentally sighed. Easier said than done Harper, I told myself.

"I was an asshole."

He got a nod in response.

"I don't deserve your time."

"Probably."

"It's my father."

At this, I nodded, unsurprised and still expressionless. I had figured as much when he had mentioned a 'he' that had gone crazy. It wasn't an odd thing for those words to be in the same sentence.

Taking a deep breath and straightening his back until his posture was as perfect as always, he spoke, his voice smooth. "I've been getting letters everyday from him. He… I don't know how to explain it Harper. It was like he just convinced me to do all this stuff, just from his words. I suppose a part of me always wanted to please him, but I… He brought my Mother into it. Going on about how disgusted he was with her, and how he should have expected a woman like him to produce a child like me. And I knew from experience that he was probably making life miserable for her. So I, I figured if I finally did what he wanted, he'd leave her alone."

It made sense. Marcus' love for his mother was probably more than that of himself. She was the world to him, on some nights, he'd spend our just gushing about how amazing she was. But still…

He sighed and continued, oblivious to my internal monologue. "It turned out, I was right."

At this, I looked at him with unabashed shock on my face. At my expression, he gave a dry and humorless, almost bitter chuckle. "Yep, believe it or not, I got a letter from my mother telling me about how my father's mood was suddenly amazing and how he was treating her great. Spoiling her and taking care of her, like he used to, like he's supposed to." He said the last part so softly, I barely caught it. "So after hearing that, I couldn't bring myself to stop. She was happy, I mean who was I to take it away from her. But I… when I saw you dripping wet and Kenny there…"

He broke off and tugged at his hair in frustration. Suddenly, he walked towards me and grasped my hands. Startled, I looked into his green eyes and saw the same desperation from before. "I realized my mother wouldn't want me to make my best friend's life miserable for her. It was my job, it _is still_ my job to protect you from jerks like those. I mean, how could I forget all those times you were the only one there for me and, and… Harper, I _beg of you_ , I will do anything to make this right again. I've left that unbearable female, gotten slapped by _both_ Sam and Ada and I even let Cyrus win the match!"

At this, my vow of silence was finally broken. "YOU WHAT?!"

"What?" he asked, caught off-guard my sudden reaction.

"You _let_ Cyrus win the match?!"

He scoffes and replied, "Of course I did, what do you take me for?"

Funnily enough, I didn't know whether to be touched by what he did or be offended on Cyrus' behalf.

Taking my lack of a response as permission to keep talking, he continued. "And don't worry, I expect a lot of things to be done to get back in your good graces but I swear, I swear on my hair styling cream, that I will do it all."

On his hairstyling cream? Wow, he must be serious. I sighed and mulled it over. I didn't blame him, I mean his father could be brutal towards his mother. Never to the point of physical harm, thank Merlin, but he came pretty close once or twice. At the same time, I was hurt he was willing to do that to me. But then, I thought of all the things he'd done until now to please me. Again, I sighed. In all honestly, I couldn't be bothered to fight with him. I wanted our old routine back, I wanted our time together back. I realized it just wasn't worth the fight. Looking up at Marcus, I saw his expression hovering between afraid and hopeful. I couldn't do it, I realized. Never. I could never hate those eyes. Fern green with flecks of mint. "You're still in a lot of trouble M."

Somehow, the look of utter relief and gratitude made it all worth it. His arms looped around me and crushed me to his chest. His scent of pinewood, brisk winter chills and old leather comforted me and all the while I could hear him muttering his thanks in my ear and I think it was a favor to both us when I merely ignored the wetness on my neck.

"They look like they want me to drop dead, while choking on my own blood."

Struggling to stifle a smile, I put on a façade of nonchalance and replied with a shrug, "Probably do."

Looking utterly horrified, Marc quickly released my hand and said to me, "Welll, then I better go to my own table. Um, meet me after?"

The poor guy looked so utterly unsure of himself, something I wasn't used to seeing on him that I gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.

Going to where Sam and Ada were sitting at the Hufflepuff table, I let the ruckus of the Great Hall surround my senses and immediately give me a feeling of warm comfort. Seating myself beside Sam, I chuckled at the dark scowls fixed onto my friends' faces. "What's got your wands in a twist?" I asked, even though I knew what it was. Rather, who it was.

"You know what it is! I just don't understand how you can forgive him so easily!" Samara snapped.

Shaking my head with an amused look, I did my best to distract them since I sure as hell didn't want to hear their opinions on the matter right now.. "So Sam, Cyrus must be ecstatic on the win."

The frown immediately melted off of her face as she began gushing about how great he had played and I couldn't help feel guilty about how Marcus had let him win. Nodding absently to Sam's adoration, I saw Ada catch my eye and give me a dirty look, conveying that my distraction was temporary and that I would have to spill soon enough.

Honestly though, their opinions wouldn't change what I thought about all of this. I had gotten my best friend, my bother back and I couldn't be happier.

 _ **A/N: Hoped you liked it. I didn't have time to edit, ssooo be kind loves. Also PLEASE review. Seriously, it makes my day.**_


	10. I didn't know what to name this chapter

_**A/N: yes. I'm aware. I have been irregular. I'm sorry. Forgive me. I will shut up, and let u read now. Be warned, its going to be short since I have had no time these days.**_

I didn't know what to name this chapter.

"….."

"…"

"Please stop staring at me."

"….."

"I mean it. Please stop."

"….."

"Do you need something Harper?"

"….."

"Harper, it's really unsettling."

"….."

"Yep, getting weird now."

"….. I'm sorry, I'm just awestruck. I mean… just- just look at your HAIR!"

"Doesn't your awe lessen every time you see me? But… thanks, I suppose?"

Grinning at how uncomfortable I had made Teddy Lupin, I tried to control my laughter, and failed, as I saw him shift in his seat under my heated gaze. Unfortunately for my amusement, Victoire Weasley quickly came to his rescue, looping her arm around his. Giving me a mock stern look, she said, with clear amusement in her eyes, "now, now Harp. Making him squirm is my job, and mine only."

"Pu-lease, when was the last time you made him truly uncomfortable?" I asked, giving her a challenging look, even though I could guess the answer well enough.

Looking triumphant, she replied, "Yesterday, actually. He asked me why I couldn't play Quidditch and I told him it was because my uterus wanted revenge on me."

A moment of silence.

Soon enough, we were both holding our sides; tears' rolling down our faces when we saw Teddy's hurt look and his pout. You see, the reason I was friendly with the Weasley's, Potter's and the entire squad was because, as my father used to be in the Ministry, had become quite friendly with my mother. In turn, I had become close friends with their children. _Their_ , being the Weasley's and the Potter's both, since you couldn't have one without the other. Sitting in Hogsmeade with all of them, I felt a rush of warmth fill me as I thought of the moment Professor McGonaggal had burst into my Herbology class, saying I was excused for the day as the entire clan had demanded to see me while visiting their family. Of course I had steadily ignored Marcus' pouting face while walking out of the dungeons. He would survive a day without me. He deserved it anyways. I told him he would continue making it up to me… and I don't kid about this stuff.

Suddenly Victoire spoke up from beside me, "Oh look, the others are finally here."

Turning my head to where she was pointing, sure enough, I saw the others walking towards us.

The first person I met, or rather the first person I found myself squeezed to, was James . "Blimey Harp, you're growing like a weed. I missed you, wow you're growing prettier by the day, any boys I need to jinx this year, I hope so cause I-"

Cutting his rambling off by putting my hand to his mouth, I chuckled while saying, "I missed you too James, and no. No jinxing of any boy", I finished, with a mock reprimanding look.

"Yeah yeah ok", he replied, smirking and walking off to meet his other family members. James had graduated last year and was now going to Auror training school. In fact, so was Teddy.

Every year, the entire clan would show up to Hogsmeade, those who worked taking days off and those who went to school begging McGonagell to give them a day off. She always agreed, of course. She was nice like that.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and lift me into the air. Squealing, I twisted my head to see the culprit and was not surprised to see Lorcan Scamander, son of Luna Lovegood and Rolf Scamander. "Lo, put me down!" I giggled, trying to squirm out of his tight grip.

When my feet were safely planted on the ground, I hugged him tightly. "You know, I hate it when you guys disappear like that, with absolutely no warning", I mumbled into his shirt.

As I pulled away, he gave me a sheepish look, showing he knew exactly what I was talking about. Lorcan Scamander and his twin Lysander Scamander were the great-grandson's of Newt Scamander, and they truly lived up to it. They had a bad habit of disappearing to some corner of the world as soon as they heard of some magical creature in need of help, or one that had never before been seen, despite the fact they were only students. In my year, in fact.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. We just reached back from Australia last night and both of us were dead tired so we didn't get a chance to call you."

He had just finished saying this when I heard a deep voice that made my heart speed up, say from behind me. "Hey Mockingbird. I hope my idiot brother adequately explained our sudden disappearance. I'm sorry about that, by the way. You know how it is."

Turning around, I felt my palms go sweaty and my pulse go through the roof.

Lysander Scamander.

With pale, dirty blonde hair just like his mother's, gorgeous slightly tanned skin from his travels, a strong jaw with kind, silvery blue eyes. He had a soft smile decorating his face, his hair which was cut short from the sides and was a curly mess at the top with a strand falling in front of his eyes.

 _Ugh, this boy was going to be the death of me._

"Oh- yeah. I mean, that's all right, I guess, I mean it's no problem", I stuttered.

His smile widening, he held his arms out for a hug. I had to physically restrain myself from either squealing or fainting. Surrounded by a scent entirely Lysander, coffee and… freshly mown grass?

*swoon*

*dreamy sigh*

*heart eyes*

Pulling away from him, I cleared my throat, probably beet red. Oh well. "So, my brother _and_ I have to get to the castle immediately and start catching up on all the work we've missed since the start of school. Have we a lot of work set out for us? Please tell me no", he asked with a hopeful look.

Chuckling, I patted both Lorcan and Lysander's arms with a sympathetic look. "Sorry boys. Prepare for no social life for the next week."

They both groaned as I tried to contain a smile at their obvious misery. Then, Lysander turned to me and gave me a side hug (something I was _not_ prepared for) while saying, "See you in the common room then? Maybe you could help with DADA work too, you know I suck at it."

Quickly nodding, I beamed up at him. I was lucky in that manner I guess; my crush was in the same house as me. I might as well take advantage of it. Saying my goodbyes to the twins, I walked over to who had her arms open, inviting me in for a hug.

Life wasn't too bad.


	11. Deal with it

_**A/N: *waves* Yo. I had a thought the other day, why do we give disclaimers when the whole point of fan fiction is that we aren't claiming the story is ours? I mean it just seems pointless is all. I don't know, maybe its just me.**_

 _ **ALSO, THIS IS IMPORTANT. I'M CHANGING IT SO THAT HARPER WAS 10 WHEN HER FATHER DIED. SO DON'T GET CONFUSED.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I only own my OC's. (Duh, if I owned Harry Potter, Remus would be at home playing with Teddy now wouldn't he? *sob sob*)**_

Deal with it

"I came in like a WRECKING BAAALLL! I NEVER HIT SO HARD IN LOOOVE!"

"HARPER GREY, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"… Rude."

Rolling his eyes, Marcus shook his head. We were standing on the Wooden Bridge ( **A/N: in case you don't remember which on I'm talking about, it's the place where Lupin talked to Harry about his parents for the first time and also where Cedric tells Harry to take a bath in the Prefect's bathroom *wink wink*)** , just enjoying each other's company. I had found out that simply just being together, in silence, was quite gratifying. "So… I finished City of Fallen Angels", I began in a teasing voice, knowing full well what his reaction would be… I was not disappointed.

"La la la la, I refuse to let you spoil another series. _Like Maze Runner",_ he said with no little amount of venom.

Chuckling and giving him a cheeky smile, I winked. "Oh come on Marc, don't you want to know what happens to Jaaaccee or Claaryy", I said while trying to control my laughter at his expression of pure fear.

Turning to face me, he clamped his hand on my mouth and gave me a glare that could melt me…If I wasn't that used to it, that is. "Okay okay, calm down, I'm only teasing."

"I can never tell with you Harp", he muttered.

"Rude."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

Again, he rolled his eyes while I stuck my tongue out at him. "You know if you keep rolling your eyes like that all the time, they're going to get stuck up there."

He just did it again.

"The twins are back", I said, as casually as I could.

"Are they? Which corner of the world did they run off to this time?"

Rolling my eyes, I smiled fondly. "Australia, apparently."

"Well, they're going to regret it when they see the amount off work they'll have to catch up."

"Yeah I know. I still don't understand how Professor McGonagall lets them leave every time", I stated with an incredulous expression painting my face. She didn't even let me go to the Hagrid's Hut without a narrowing of her eyes. My friend merely shrugged and said, "I guess when you're the great grandchildren of Newt Scamander and your mother is Luna Lovegood, you get some brownie points in the old bird's eyes."

I chuckled at his nickname for our Headmistress. He always claimed she looked like a hawk, about pounce on her prey. I shuddered. Upon hearing Marcus sigh almost morosely I turned to him with a questioning look. "Mood swings much?" I asked, only half joking.

"I'm just nervous. My father dearest has left mum alone but he says if I don't get good grades in my OWL's, he'll, quote 'show me what true wrath is.'"

For my companions sake, I tried for a smile, as much as I just wanted to sit and curse his father for an hour. "Well then you have nothing to worry about. You're one of the best students in our year. You'll do great."

And I meant it too. Marcus always seemed to breeze through his studies, with no apparent effort. This one trait of his was always a cause of great envy from my side. Turning to me, he gave me a genuine smile that automatically brought a smile to my own face as well.

Standing side by side with my best friend, I didn't even try to keep the content feeling in the pit of my stomach from blooming all across my body.

 **(Later, at dinner)**

"NOOOO! HOW COULD YOU?! YOU MONSTER!"

"….."

"HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT?"

"You're over reacting Harp calm down."

"C-calm down?" I squawked in indignation. "The fact that you are still alive after you made me drop my fry is proof that I am already beyond calm."

Rolling her eyes at my antics, Sam reached into her plate and threw a handful of fries to me. "Happy?"

"Utterly", I replied with a cheeky smile.

Groaning, Sam rolled her eyes while saying, "What am I going to do with you?"

With a shit-eating smile still on my face, I said with a mouth stuffed with fries, "Feed me and tell me I'm pretty"

At this, she burst into laughter.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and someone slide into the stop next to me. Turning my head and seeing who it was, I almost had a heart attack.

 _Lysander._ What was he doing here? Oh right, he was a Hufflepuff too. Silly me. With his hand still on my shoulder, he sent me a heart stopping smile. "Mockingbird", he greeted.

Unfortunately for me, my mouth was still stuffed with fries so I quickly tried to swallow them without choking and dying. After I had achieved this task, I smiled back at him and tried not to make a fool, or rather a _further_ fool of myself. "Lysander, how are you?"

Shaking his head, he replied with a grimace, "Horrible. You were right when you said I would have no social life for a while. I've been working non-stop since I got back."

Giving him a sympathetic smile, I busied myself in my food, discreetly glancing at him when I thought he wasn't looking. I was doing pretty well in being subtle (in my opinion) when I heard Sam and Ada both clear their throats pointedly. Looking up, I saw both of them had their eyebrows raised and were giving me questioning looks. Quickly checking to see whether Lysander was looking or not, I mouthed a 'what' to them. In reply, Sam motioned to Lysander with her chin and then pointed to me. 'Later' I mouthed back. Quickly nodding, they exchanged excited looks.

Rolling my eyes at their immaturity, I sighed, thinking about the onslaught of questions that was sure to come my way back in our room. "Everything all right love?"

Trying not to melt at the term of endearment, I gave him a wide smile. "Of course, why do you ask?"

"You were frowning, that's all." I thought I heard him mutter "I only like when you smile, not frown", but I was probably hallucinating or something.

 **(In the dorm room)**

"Since when have you been crushing on Lysander Scamander?! Ly-freaking-sander?!"

"Keep it down will you", I hissed at Ada, flailing my arms around like a lunatic.

Rolling her eyes, she huffed in impatience. "Come on, spill already. You should be eternally grateful you haven't been brutally murdered for keeping it from us for this long", Sam piped up from behind Ada, where she was sprawled on the bed stuffing her face with Muggle snacks. (I'm pretty sure it was a packet of Flaming Hot Cheetos. Yum)

"Over dramatic much?"

"WE'RE WAITING!"

"OmygoshchillI'velikedhimsinceiwassevenyearsoldanddamnyou'rescary."

With my hands raised in surrender, I tried to make myself as small as possible as both my friends glared at me. "And _why_ are we only hearing about this _now_?" Sam growled (yes, _growled_ ).

Trying for a meek expression, I twisted my hands and mumbled, "It never came up?" Unfortunately, it came out more as a question than a statement.

"Never came up? What in Merlin's name are you talking about; we talk about our crushes all the time!"

"All right, enough, don't get your wand in a twist. You know now, calm down", I grumbled, very done with the topic currently being discussed.

Truth be told, the real reason I hated talking about Lysander was because, I felt a little more than a silly crush for him. I had known him since I was a child, and (whether it was a good thing or not, I would never know) I knew him and he knew me. So it wasn't like I was admiring him from across the room or anything. He had been there when my father had died, he had been there the time all us kids got in a water fight and Mrs. Granger wouldn't let us in the house. He'd also been there when I and he had jinxed a kid for making fun of Hufflepuffs and we had both been sent to detention. Talking about him, brought up too many complicated emotions that I preferred to leave dormant.

Narrowing her eyes at me but giving me a slow nod, Sam passed the Cheetos to me. "To beautiful boys", she said while tipping a single Cheeto in the air in a mock toast.

Chuckling, Ada and I toasted with her.


	12. Longbottom is life

_**A/N: Sup. I don't have much to say this time. It's just a filler chapter, very short, I know. Also um… let's see. Oh right, I just wanted to give a big shout out to Beetle126, a faithful reader who reviews on every chapter. LOVE YOU 3**_

Longbottom is life

"Why can't Professor Binns just accept the fact that he's dead and go wherever ghosts go after they die?! I mean, come on, do you have to make our lives miserable even after death?"

"Harper, he's not going away any time soon, so why don't you just can it so we can actually learn something!" Marcus said, giving me a death glare.

Normally, I would have teased him for his nerdyness, but I knew the reason for his unusual attitude towards our studies. Despite my reassurances, he was beyond stressed out for his OWL's. The weight of his father's words, added with all the pressure the professors were putting on us, Marcus had become, to put it lightly, high strung. So instead of fulfilling my duty of best friend and making fun of him, I sighed and put my head on my arms and simply tried not to fall asleep (not that Professor Binns would have noticed).

As I half heartedly made some notes, I let my gaze wander to Lysander who was completely engrossed in whatever the Professor was saying. _Great,_ I thought to myself, _it'll be easier to stare at him creepily now._ Then as an afterthought; _I am a sad excuse for a human being._ Ugh, see this is why I preferred it when he wasn't at school. I always became this awkward, creepy stalker person around him. suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Marcus was standing.

"I get it I told you to listen to the teacher, but we can leave now that the class is over you know", Marc said, looking at me weirdly.

"I knew that."

I quickly gathered my books and caught up with Marcus, who was waiting in the hallway. As we walked, I turned to him and asked, dreading the answer already. "What class do we have left?"

"Herbology", he replied with a grimace.

I, on the other hand rejoiced. Call it stereotypical, but Herbology came to me easily. In fact, it was a passion, or hobby of mine. I had always day dreamed of becoming a Herbology professor at Hogwarts, but quickly dismissed the thought as soon as it came. I wasn't nearly skilled enough for the job. However, the idea always niggled away at the back of my mind. The day I had shared my inner musings with my mother, she had been ecstatic. She had thought it was perfect for me and that I could easily get the job. However, that's what mothers are supposed to do. Encourage their kids even when they are talentless potatoes. Right?

"Ugh, I wonder if we can just skip". Marcus' voice brought me out my thoughts as I smiled wryly. Marc had always hated Professor Longbottom's subject. I claimed it was the elitist side of him that hated to get his hands dirty.

Looking at him sternly, I reprimanded him, "There's a Herbology OWL too, in case you forgot.

That put him in his senses.

 **(At the Green houses)**

"All right students, I hope you're all having a nice Thursday. Since we finished with the Self-fertilizing Shrubs last time, today we are going learning about Chinese Chomping Cabbages", Professor Longbottom finished with a clap of his hands.

Beside me, Marcus groaned. "Great, another thing that chomps."

I quickly shushed him and focused on what the teacher was saying. "A lot of you must have heard of this particular plant before. That's because it's used in potion Making, so everyone better pay attention."

As the class wore on, all my attention was on the assignment, so I didn't hear the Professor walk up until he spoke, right beside me. "Well done Harper. You have quite the knack for this sort of stuff. Have you ever considered a job in the field?"

Looking up to see my teachers handsome face ( **A/N: and if you guys are like, 'whaaat, Neville isn't handsome', then go search up Matthew Lewis and BE AMAZED** ) smiling kindly at me, I blushed at the praise. "Well, I haven't real-"

"She wants to teach Herbology, right here, at Hogwarts", Marcus piped up before I could finish.

 _He was going to pay for that._

I blushed harder and quickly tried to negate what my snakey companion had said but before I could, Longbottom spoke. "Trying to steal my job eh?" he said, his tone light and teasing.

 _Crap. How do I respond to that?_

"She actually thinks she's not good enough for the job. That's why she doesn't really talk about it."

 _Oh. Oh. Ok. Well Marcus Hopkins, I hope you said goodbye to your mother because you just signed up for a world of pain._

I quickly averted my eyes to the ground to save myself from embarrassment. "Harper."

Clearing my throat, I looked up, surprised to see my teacher's expression soft, practically dripping with sympathy. "Why would you ever think that? When I was your age, I wasn't half as good as you, you know. In fact", he said, an amused smile made its way onto his face as he remembered something from his childhood, "the day we learned of Mandrakes, I passed out. You on the other hand, worked with them like a pro."

"Thank you Sir", I said, trying not to let the praise go to my head.

"Also, I think you'd get the job in a heartbeat. No question." And with that, he walked away, correcting students on the way.

I turned slowly back to my plants, feeling elated. Did he really think so? Or was he just saying it. He was a family friend too, maybe he was just saying it to make me feel better. Who knows, I could-

"Pfft, I've been telling you that since forever. Why is it different when _he_ tells you? Do you like him more than me or something? Because that makes no sense."

"I hate you so much Marcus."

"… I'm too cool to be offended at anything you say."

"Merlin, just kill me."


	13. I know I'm a crap person

_**A/N: I know what you're thinking. Who the heck are you? Yes, yes I'm aware. I am a horrible person who deserves to be in a world where there is no Hagrid. But seriously guys, I'm sorry, its been crazy with my exams and laptop problems and….. just please forgive me. Here is the chapter… ill just go hide now. *fades into shadows***_

 _ ***reappears* oh right, BTW, since I have absolutely not kept track of the timeline, I'm skipping to Christmas *fades back***_

I know I'm a crap person

"Harper, what in the name of all that is holy are you doing?!"

"… I can explain?"

"Really?"

"… Ok no not really."

I was dead. Deceased. Busted. Goodbye cruel world. "Um you see, I was just checking if… if you know you got enough candy… you know?"

"Harper."

"Yes?"

"Get your hand out of my Christmas stocking… slowly."

Clearing my throat, I, at a snail's pace, extracted my hand from the sock filled with wonderful candy… candy I would never taste. Now I was just sad. Turning towards Sam, I gave her a weak smile, trying my best not to melt with the glare she was sending my way. "I will forgive you for this, since that is what any good Hufflepuff would do. However…" pausing for effect and intensifying her glare, she continued, "This will never be forgotten. Understood? Take this a warning Grey, you won't get a second chance."

Gulping, I nodded vigorously. I might be pretty stupid most of the time, but even I knew when Samara Gorman got that glint in her eye… it was time to back the frick off. Walking to my bed and plopping down on it, I stretched like a cat. "Ada still awake?"

To be honest, I only asked her that because she was still staring at me and it was starting to freak me out. It was obvious seeing the unmoving lump on Ada's bed, that she was very much asleep. "Obviously." Crap. She was still staring at me… she wasn't even blinking.

"Omygosh calm the hell down Sam, I didn't even take anything!"

"If I hadn't caught you, you would have!"

"Yeah well, then later I would have felt guilty and given you some of mine and we would have been even. So stop giving me the death glare already, it's Christmas so cut me some slack."

At that, her face lit up. "Omygosh Christmas!"

Suddenly, she leapt forward and started hugging the breath out of me. Literally. "Merry Christmas Harp!"

"Sammy I can't breathe", I managed to wheeze out.

Letting go, she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck and grinned. " Sorry… I'm just so excited, another Christmas, another year, another year closer to death."

"…"

"… Let's pretend I didn't say that."

"Let's."

Looking over to the unmoving lump, sorry, I mean looking to Ada, I let a devious smile creep onto my face.

 **(A few seconds later)**

"YOU UTTER PIECE OF SHIT!"

"That's not a very nice thing to say on Christmas morning, now is it?"

"WHEN YOU WAKE ME UP BY PUSHING ME OFF THE BED ON 'CHRISTMAS MORNING' YOU CAN'T VERY WELL EXPECT ME TO HAVE ROSES SPEWING OUT OF MY MOUTH!"

Still chuckling, I ran from our dorm down to the common room knowing Ada wouldn't hold a grudge… Not like Sam. I shuddered. Looking around, I quickly gathered all my books sprawled on the floor and went back upstairs to pack. The people who had planned to go home for the holidays had already left but since my mother had been busy, she was coming today. I was beyond excited. I loved Hogwarts with all of my heart, but I still missed my family beyond belief. My brother, Abel would be back from Auror Training too. Quickly stuffing everything I would need for the holidays into my trunk and changing into some muggle clothes, I went to say goodbye to my friends. Marcus had already left for his house, but not without complaining the entire time. Walking to Sam and Ada, I hugged them and pushed their gifts into their discreetly waiting hands. "Open them after I leave 'kay."

"If you say so, have fun though and say hi to your mum from me", Ada said with a grin.

Winking, I quickly walked out, excitement buzzing just beneath my skin, fighting to get out. Here I come fam.

 _ **A/N: This was really short, I know. But like I said, my exams are going on and this was just a little filler so you guys wouldn't completely forget me. Muahs. (Not edited… like at all) next chapter, you meet Harper's fam. Yay.**_


	14. not an updattee

_**A/N: ok fam. Here's the deal. I will not be posting more chapters unless I see some reviews. Now I know what you're thinking. "Seriously Qween that's not cool man." I know. I hate it when that happens too. But I'm not going to be writing a story if no one reads it. It's as simple as that. Sorry guys. So until then.. toodles.**_


	15. Christmas surprise

_**A/N: Ok, so I'm here again. LOL. I have horrible will power smh. Oh well. Now here's the deal fam; I only want one thing from you… REVIEWSS! R-E-V-I-E-W! Yep… That's literally all.**_

"Momm you're crushing my ribs!"

"I'm sorry love I just missed you so much."

Pulling away from my mother's steel grip, I gave her a wide smile and pecked her on the cheek softly. Examining her, I was relieved to see she still looked the same; no dark circles or signs of illness. It was sort of unfair honestly. People often mistook her for my older sister, she just looked that young. With her short black hair, angular face and lovable personality, she was a joy to be around. That is, until you got on her bad side. A shudder ran down my spine just from the thought of it. "I missed you too mum but could we go home and do this maybe?"

"Alright alright. Hold on to my arm as tightly as you can; I don't want you getting splinched."

If you hadn't figured it out by now, we were apparating. Well my mother was apparating, I was just "side-along apparating" apparently. Soon enough, I felt the uncomfortable feeling of immense pressure all over my body, but thank Merlin it was over soon enough. As I blinked and regained my bearings, I saw my mother already walking ahead of me, entering our home.

Home.

I almost immediately felt the warm, soothing feeling that accompanied the word. Everything was the same. The ivy that started at the front door and ended at my bedroom window upstairs bought a smile to my face as I remembered the time I had tried to use it as a rope to sneak out but had only managed to break my ankle. The red brick walls and the chimney which had a trickle of smoke drifting up into the sky. The garden which always looked well kept yet messy at the same time was covered in a layer of snow.

Looking down at my feet, I saw my mother had already taken my trunk and owl inside, so I quickly followed suit. Walking into the foyer, I took off my coat and hung it on the hook while shaking off the light dusting of snow which had gathered on my head. All of a sudden, before I could understand what was going on, I found myself being squeezed to the point of suffocation. "Mum!"

"What? You said we could do this at home."

Groaning, I followed her into the kitchen which overlooked our cozy little living room. In said living room… sat a hunched figure. Freezing, I pursed my lips, trying to be as quite as I could. I walked behind the figure, on my tip toes, and just as I was ready to pounce…

"I'm an auror in training idiot, I'll know when a clumsy teenager is trying to sneak up on me."

"Aw come on", I whined before tackling my older brother.

A muffled "Oof" was heard before I was practically flung across the room. Lifting myself up from where I had fallen, rather where I had been thrown, I dusted myself of and tried not to laugh at my brother's glare. "I hope you know that my least favorite time of the year is when you come home."

Gasping and clutching at my heart dramatically, I wailed, "Oh but you can't mean that brother mine!"

"He doesn't Harper, I can promise you that. Why just yesterday he was offering to pick you up from school!" I heard a voice behind me say. Turning around, I saw my mother beckon to the dining table with a fond smile on her face. "Now come along. Dinner is ready."

Quickly following her to the treat laden table, I ignored my brother's indignant refusals behind me and licked my lips in anticipation. Hogwarts food was amazing, but Mum's food was to die for. A whole chicken roast with mashed potatoes and vegetables, potato salad, tomato soup and mutton chops is what decorated our table and I couldn't help but gape. I already knew my aunt and her family wouldn't be coming because of their prior commitments and my uncle wasn't even in the country, so who the heck was going to eat all that food? "Mum, I hope you realized there are just three f us. How are we supposed to eat all that?!"

Rolling her eyes she raised her eyebrow and said, "Don't be silly Harp, the Scamanders are coming over for Christmas dinner since their other relatives are all over the world, you know how that family is."

Did she just say the Scamanders? No. of course she didn't. She couldn't have. Swallowing thickly, I repeated, "the… Scamanders?"

Looking thoroughly confused, the poor woman, she nodded.

Well then.

And with that thought, I was gone. Bounding up the stairs, taking two at a time, I put my thoughts in order.

First: nicer clothes.

Second: fix my face.

Third: get in the correct state of mind.

I was so not prepared for this. Not at all. Lysander Scamander, in my home, eating at my table, possibly entering my room.

*queue internal panic*

Bursting into my bedroom, I took deep breath and looked around. Everything was exactly as I left it. My bed (my first and last love) with its aqua bedcovers and plushy cushions, my wall painted the same color as my common room, my dresser and my soft rug. Running to my wardrobe I quickly started sifting through it.

Formal dress? Nope.

Skirt? Nah.

Ripped jeans? Ha, not happening.

Plain red sweater and black pants? Hmm, it would do.

Changing clothes in record time, I sped into the bathroom and scrutinized my reflection in the mirror. Thank Merlin my skin was currently zit, pimple and acne free and my dark circles weren't _too_ prominent. Carefully putting some mascara and face powder on, I ran a brush through my hair. Going to look into the mirror, I found my reflection acceptable enough.

"Well I understand its Christmas and all so I get the whole dressing up bit, but you never put makeup on, so that's a red light", I heard my mother's amused voice say behind me.

Turning around with a deer in the headlights expression, I quickly shook my head. "Actually you know how you always say I should be more presentable and I felt like I needed to take your advice and you know I'm feeling loads better about myself-"

My rambling, however was cut off when my mother let out an unbelieving scoff. "Darling you came out of my womb I know you well enough. Other than that, you don't hide your crush very well, sorry to say. Now the question remains; which twin?"

Sighing, I found that I wasn't really all that surprised. Mum always found a way to look right through me, why would this be any different? Shrugging, I mumbled, "Lysander."

Chuckling, she nodded. "Of course, your fellow Hufflepuff. Well alright dear, since you're all dressed up, why don't you come downstairs since your crush has arrived." And with that she was gone.

Ok then. I could do this. To be completely honest, the only reason I was making such a big deal of him coming to my home was because I had no preparation whatsoever and other than that, I was in a completely different zone at home compared to Hogwarts. But no matter, shoulders straight, chin up.

This dinner would go well even if it was the last thing I saw.

 _ **A/N: *shuffles around and looks at you with eyebrows raised* So I'm back to bribing. If you review, both the Scamander twins will give you a kiss**_

 _ **Lorcan: *wiggles eyebrows and puckers lips* Lets do this baby**_

 _ **Lysander: Really Lorcan? You would just kiss a stranger?**_

 _ **Lorcan: Well excuse me Mr. condescending, don't you want reviews?**_

 _ **Lysander: Of course I do!**_

 _ **Lorcan: Then pucker up princess**_

 _ **Lysander: Allrighty. Whose first?**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: Guys im really sorry but I don't think I'll be continuing with this story. To be honest, I don't like where the plot has gone and ive sort of lost inspiration to write it. Thank you for the reviews and feedback though3**_


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